Mark Jewell's Blog: Selling Energy, page 9

Your Ideal Home Office

Working from home might seem like the ideal situation, but it comes with its own challenges and distractions. If you’re aiming to up your productivity or improve your focus, what can you do? You’re in one of the most comfortable and familiar places you know, so your day-to-day habits might be harder to break.

The Shortcomings of Simple Payback Period

I’ve written several blogs about the perils of using Simple Payback Period (SPP) as a metric when evaluating proposed expense-reducing projects. I keep returning to this topic because so many efficiency salespeople still use this inferior yardstick, in many cases because they don’t know how to migrate the discussion from simple payback to a more proper metric. Today, we’ll discuss several shortcomings of SPP. Keep these concepts in mind the next time you encounter a prospect who insists on evaluating your project using this broken metric.

Acknowledging the Sacrifice and Risk of Change

“Comfort and the fear of change are the greatest enemies of success.” - Jeanette Coron

When you’re talking with a prospect and attempting to make a compelling case for change, you have to remember that people are often averse to change. You may think to yourself, “Oh my goodness, all I have to do is tell them that this new technology is available and they’ll just jump all over it.” Not necessarily. What seems obvious to you may not be so obvious to your prospect.

How to Write Less, Say More

I have a rule of thumb that when I send an email, I make sure that if it’s viewed on a smartphone, you can get through it in a few swipes of your thumb. In my experience, if it’s longer, people start assuming, “Wow, this is a book. I’ll read this later.”

7 Best Practices for Acing Virtual Presentations

As sales professionals intent on prevailing in the new world of “work from home,” we’re called upon to give online presentations and webinars or have video conversations much more often than before. Here are seven tips to help you present virtually like a pro:

Get More Done‚ One Thing at a Time

How many times a day do you switch from one unfinished task to another? If you’re like most people, you’re probably thinking of a pretty high number right now. In a fast-paced business with lots of distractions and multiple projects to juggle, it’s very easy to succumb to multitasking and task-switching. Unfortunately, this can take a huge toll on your productivity – and even your sanity.

Weekly Recap, January 7, 2024

Here are our sales-enhancing tips from this week's Selling Energy Blogs...

Secret to Making Yourself Better

Your existing customer base is a significant (and often overlooked) asset. It’s easy to get so wrapped up in new customer acquisition that you forget to leave time for client nurturing. If the solutions you sell are large-scale and time-consuming, you wouldn’t necessarily acquire vast numbers of customers.

Client Nurturing

Your existing customer base is a significant (and often overlooked) asset. It’s easy to get so wrapped up in new customer acquisition that you forget to leave time for client nurturing. If the solutions you sell are large-scale and time-consuming, you wouldn’t necessarily acquire vast numbers of customers.

Networking Effectively, Part Three

When you’re at a networking event, you can get a lot more accomplished if you partner up with one or two people and work the room together.